Lewis Hamilton has gone two seasons without a race win, and he has only one pole position in that time.
While placing third in the Drivers’ Championship and 59 points ahead ofps George Russell looks like a fantastic season, Lewis Hamilton had a bad year in 2023, prompting doubts about what keehim in Formula One.
Hamilton had a stronger year in 2023 than he did in 2022, as he was not beaten by his teammate in the standings and did at least one pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
However, it was his second winless season, therefore his most recent triumph remains the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Hamilton going a complete season without a win is incredible, but going two years without a race win is troubling.
It’s not down to a lack of hard work or effort, but rather to the car he’s been given, as the W14 was again another poorly designed Mercedes.
Mercedes has failed to grasp the modern aerodynamic requirements, which is why they have slipped so far behind Red Bull as a team.
Red Bull has won 38 races in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, whereas Mercedes has only won one.
The Silver Arrows have admitted their troubles and accepted that the last two vehicles supplied to Hamilton were insufficient, leading in the team beginning from anew in 2024 with an altogether new idea.
Hamilton will be hoping that Mercedes’ 2024 car closes the gap to Red Bull, as this will give him confidence that taking on the Austrians in 2025 is a possibility.
He evidently believes in the Brackley-based team, as he signed a new two-year contract with Mercedes during the Italian Grand Prix, keeping him at the team until at least the end of 2025.
Will he live to the end of 2025? Is he willing to put up with two more fruitless years of hardship and frustration?
These are the kinds of questions that will be raised when F1 returns in 2024 with the Bahrain Grand Prix, especially if Mercedes’ car isn’t competitive.
If the W15 is good, there will be little doubt that Hamilton’s decision to accept a new contract was a wise one, but if the car is awful, it will be questioned whether retiring was a better option.
Hamilton will be remembered as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time, but is he postponing his retirement too long in search of an elusive eighth World Championship that appears to be slipping away from him?
